The invention relates to a magazine for measuring and/or sampling probes, in particular for steel works, comprising storage compartments accommodating the probes in a horizontal position, and supply and delivery openings provided parallel to the probes, with a conveying means located at the delivery openings to deliver the probes to an erecting means which places the probes in a vertical position.
A magazine of this kind is known from DE-A No. 30 44 609. This known magazine comprises vertically extending storage compartments which, due to the probes' own weight, can be filled with a limited number of probes. Difficulties with this magazine arise with the filling of the magazine and the withdrawal of the probes. If the magazines are filled in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the probes, it is difficult to fill the storage compartments lying between other storage compartments; if the storage compartments are filled in the axial direction of the probes (known from DE-B No. 28 39 255), a free space at least the length of the probes is required laterally adjacent to the magazine. If the probes are removed by pushing them out of the compartments in the longitudinal direction of the probes, additional space is required on the side of the magazine opposite the filling side, which space also must have a width corresponding to the lengths of the probes.
When conveying the probes out of the vertical compartments, the remaining probes in a compartment may become damaged by falling a distance corresponding to the diameter of a probe.
It is impracticable to extract in their longitudinal direction if probes having offset diameters, e.g., probes comprising special measuring heads, are used. If the probes are taken out transversely to their longitudinal extension, as is disclosed in DE-A No. 30 44 609, a singling means carrying the remaining probes present in the respective storage compartments is necessary.
The present invention avoids these disadvantages and difficulties and has as its object to provide a magazine of the initially defined kind, in which as many probes as possible can be housed by optimum space utilization, in which the supply and delivery of the probes requires a small space beside the magazine, and with which the probes are carefully delivered. In particular, the invention allows for installation of the magazine in an existing steel works with narrow limited available space.